This invention relates to a connector used for connecting an automotive wire harness or the like, and more particularly to a lock mechanism of a connector which has a lock arm for engagement with a retaining portion of a mating connector.
In a related connector, a lock arm of the type described has been provided on an outer surface of a hood portion for fitting on a mating connector. In this case, the height of the connector is increased by an amount corresponding to the height of the lock arm projecting outwardly from the hood portion, and this has been a barrier to the achievement of a low-height design of the connector.
On the other hand, there is known a related connector in which a lock arm is formed integrally on a hood portion, and the upper side of the lock arm is covered by a bulging wall for protecting purposes (see, for example, JP-A-2003-45566). FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the related connector disclosed in JP-A-2003-45566.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 110 denotes a male connector, and reference numeral 120 denotes a female connector. The male and female connectors 110 and 120 are connected together, and the male connector 110 includes a connector body portion 111 for receiving terminals (not shown), the hood portion 114 which is provided around the outer periphery of the connector body portion 111, and is integrally connected by its rear end wall 112 to the connector body portion 111 such that a blind-type annular space 113 (into which the female connector 120 is fitted from the front side) is formed between the outer periphery of the connector body portion 111 and the hood portion 114, the elastic lock arm 116 which is integrally connected at its front end portion to the hood portion 114, and extends rearwardly from its front end portion in a direction parallel to a connector fitting direction, and has a depressing portion 115 for lock cancellation purposes formed at its a rear end, a lock projection 117 which is formed on a lower surface of the lock arm 116 at an intermediate portion thereof in the forward-rearward direction of the lock arm 116, and is exposed to the annular space 113, and can be engaged with a retaining portion 121 (formed by front and rear convex portions 121a and 121b) formed on the outer periphery of the female connector 120, and the bulging wall 118 which is formed outwardly of the hood portion 114 to cover a generally front half portion of the lock arm 116 to protect this lock arm 116. The retaining portion 121 of the female connector 120 is formed by the front and rear convex portions 121a and 121b spaced from each other in the forward-rearward direction.
Even in the case where the hood portion 114 and the lock arm 116 are formed integrally with each other as shown in FIG. 5, it has been difficult to achieve a low-height design of the connector (that is, to reduce the height H of the connector) since the related lock mechanism has the bulging wall 118 provided to cover the upper side of the lock arm 116 for the purpose of protecting this lock arm 116.